Peda is as popular a sweet as barfi/burfi in India. It is traditionally given as an offering to the Hindu Gods in temples and often used as 'prasad' after prayer meetings. It is a very simple sweet to make, but quite delicious. This recipe comes from my sister in-law's cook Santosh. Her father used to be a 'halwai', an Indian sweet maker and she learnt this dish from him. Makes approximately 30-Mamta.
Ingredients
| • | 500 gm. fresh Khoya or Mawa 1 / Khoya or Mawa 2 |
| • | 250 gm. or less boora or ground sugar |
| • | 2 tsp. cardamom seeds |
| • | 6-7 almonds or pistachios, thinly sliced/shredded |
Instructions
| 1. | Grate or mash mawa. |
| 2. | Heat a kadhai/karahi or a heavy bottomed wok. |
| 3. | Stir fry mawa, until softened. |
| 4. | Add 2 tbs. sugar and continue frying, until mawa becomes thick again and slightly pinkish-brown. Sugar helps to give it the colour. |
| 5. | Turn the heat off and allow to cool completely |
| 6. | Mix sugar thoroughly, rubbing between the heals of your palms, until you can roll a small portion of mawa into a ball. |
| 7. | Divide into 30 portions and make balls. Size is your choice. |
| 8. | Shaping the Peda: |
| 9. | If you have a peda mould, it is good. If not, use the lid of a small jar, approximately 1 1/2 inch in diameter. |
| 10. | Scatter a pinch of chopped almonds/pistachios and 3-4 cardamom seeds in the peda mould/jar lid. |
| 11. | Now place one prepared ball into the lid. Turn the lid and the ball over onto a plate; press the mould/lid firmly to flatten the ball. Lift the mould/lid off, leaving a flattened circle of the peda behind. Each peda will come out, ready garnished with almonds and cardamoms. Repeat the process until all balls are finished. |
| 12. | Store in an airtight box. |
| 13. | Serve at room temperature with tea or coffee. |
Notes
| • | When we were children, our mum used to give us a peda with yoghurt, before we went to take any examinations. It was supposed to be good luck. I suppose it helped because nervous kids often skipped breakfast before an examination and peda and yoghurt gave them a quick boost of energy, along with psychological support - Mamta. |